WASHINGTON — Priscilla Weaver plans to set up a voter registration desk next month at the flea market on the Shiprock Reservation in New Mexico. an impediment to voting.
“We’re going to prevent this from becoming a problem,” said Weaver, a network organizer and registered member of the Navajo Nation. “We need to make sure that each and every vote counts, and there’s no explanation why I shouldn’t. “Don’t count. “
Weaver and other advocates for local U. S. voters said they were running to remove potential barriers to voting in upcoming local elections and midterm congressional elections. They point to unique obstacles for Native American voters, adding having to travel many miles to get to a polling place. or election officials who do not authorize tribal-issued ID cards.
Activists had hoped for the passage this year of the federal voting rights law that included a bipartisan measure to increase the native American electorate’s rights to Indian lands. But the voting rights bill failed to advance last month in the Senate, where Democrats have a slight majority. No Republicans supported the law.
“We want to pass the right to vote,” said Lycia Maddocks, who marched with activists in Washington, D. C. and Phoenix over the MLK holiday weekend to urge Congress to act. I am amazed that our voice is silenced or not taken into account. “
Opponents of the Native American voting rights bill argue that many protections for voters are already in place and that federal court orders are not needed.
“The parts of this bill that have been defended are because they are just a matrix,” said Sara Frankenstein, an attorney who specializes in election law and has represented election officials in legislative trials.
Supporters of the bill have tried for years to get it passed in Congress, but said this year is critical as more states pass restrictive election laws.
“Lies about voter fraud have allowed state legislatures to act aggressively, causing minority communities to vote,” said Jacqueline De Leon, an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund.
The Senate rejected pressure to promote the federal voting rights act that included the “Frank Harrison, Elizabeth Peratrovich and Miguel Trujillo Native American Voting Rights Act of 2021. “, which sought to reinstate provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that require states with a history of voter discrimination to discharge federal approval before making electoral changes.
Supporters plan to mobilize this spring and push for passage.
“We know the fight is over until we see true justice,” said Maddocks, a citizen of the Quechan Indian Nation and political director of the NDN Collective, an indigenous-led organization whose project is to develop indigenous power.
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Supporters of the Native American suffrage measure said it would provide fundamental access to polls on Native American lands, which come with reservations. allow the use of tribal identity documents to register and vote. The bill would allow, among other things, some other user to issue an electoral survey.
It would also provide $10 million to establish the Native American Voting Rights Task Force grant program to create statewide execution teams to develop participation, education, awareness, and accessibility.
The bipartisan bill was reintroduced last summer through Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N. M. ; Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan. ; and Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican.
Supporters point to problems such as the geographical isolation of some tribes, lack of transportation, lack of access to polling places, non-traditional mailing addresses and housing instability as factors.
“It’s that those are new disorders. These are upheavals that have been constant and persistent,” said James Tucker, senior special advisor on the allocation of voting rights at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, D. C. , and a founding member of the Native American Voting Rights Coalition, a civil rights organization and Native American activists.
Tucker said many considerations can be addressed through federal legislation. “Our democracy is incomplete because we exclude certain teams of voters,” he said.
Some Native Americans have to travel an “absurd” distance to register up to 140 miles each way, De Leon said.
“All Americans deserve to vote in a convenient, available and familiar place,” he said. and equitable access.
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Critics argue that some of the provisions may simply contradict state election law and may lead to voter fraud, although studies have shown that voter fraud is incredibly rare. Last week, the measure had no Republican co-sponsors in the Senate. Cole, one of the bill’s main co-sponsors, is the only Republican supporter in the House.
Frankenstein, through Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson
“These are procedures that only allow the misuse of ballots when there are already tactics to achieve all that in a much more culpable way,” he said.
Frankenstein said there deserves to be discussions with election officials about what is feasible. “I think it’s missing from the election bills,” he said.
Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, said state officials across the country are competing with tribes so everyone has a chance to vote, so there’s no need for a “full review. “
“What Democrats need to do is expand voter fraud and prevent the electorate from voting for Democrats,” he said.
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Julia Benally, who has worked as a scrutineer and manager in Arizona’s Navajo Reservation Districts, said she saw many voters frustrated.
Some are disappointed to learn that they were removed from the lists because they did not vote in the last election. Others complain that they don’t receive ballots in the mail or show up only to find out that their riding has changed. But so is the difficulties in getting to the polls that can be an impediment for many Native American voters.
Benally herself has to travel 10 miles down a dirt road to vote in a network outlet or in a bankruptcy house. Some voters in mountainous regions have to travel 15 to 20 miles on dirt roads where their tires get stuck.
For other more prepared people, Benally visits schools and other places, adding network centers, to provide education to voters. He said it is vital that the electorate knows the local electoral legislation and who is running for office.
“I understand them.
Weaver and her husband, John Watts, drove more than two hours from their home in Teec Nos Pos, Arizona, to cast their ballots in early voting for the 2020 election. They tried to make sure they wouldn’t get lost or delayed. through the dodgy postal service on the reservation.
“We were determined to count our two votes and get there on time,” said Weaver, president of the Apache County Democrats.
Since 2017, at least 8 states have considered access expenses for Native American voters, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Native American activists have joined demonstrations across the country to pressure lawmakers on the proposed federal measures. They also introduced social media campaigns, posted videos on Facebook and tweeted for buildArray.
“I’m still hopeful, but it pains me to see him go several years in a row,” said Kris Beecher, a Phoenix-based attorney for Dickinson Wright who specializes in Indian law and is a registered member of the Navajo Nation.
Beecher and activists said the right to vote would be a cross factor this year. “We all know what’s at stake,” he said.
Follow Deborah Berry on Twitter: @dberrygannett. com